Presenting search results based upon subject-versions

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for identifying queries having a version-intent and presenting search results in accordance with the version-intent are provided. Subject-versions associated with retrievable documents are identified and associated therewith as subject-version tags. When a search query is received, it is determined whether the query has a version-intent indicative of a particular version associated with a subject of the query. Documents are retrieved that satisfy the input query and ranked for presentation based upon the particular subject-version indicated by the version-intent. The ranked documents are then presented. Also presented is a user-manipulatable tool, manipulation of which permits a user to indicate that information concerning a different subject-version is desired. Upon receiving such indication, the search results are changed such that documents having subject-version tags indicative of the newly-indicated version-intent are ranked higher and receive more prominent placement than documents lacking such subject-version tags.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Indian Patent Application No.2950/DEL/2011 filed Oct. 13, 2011, which application is incorporated byreference as if set forth in its entirety herein.

BACKGROUND

Users often submit keyword-based queries to search engines in search ofdesired information. In response to receiving such queries, searchengines identify those documents determined to most closely satisfy thequery, rank the identified documents based upon keyword-based relevanceand present a ranked listing of documents to the user. Those documentsof higher ranking are determined to be more relevant and thus receivemore prominent placement (e.g., at or toward the top of a verticallisting). While search engines strive to return the most relevant anddesired results, there is any number of reasons why the documentsreturned may be unsatisfactory to the user. One such reason is that asubject of an input search query may have various versions and theresults returned, while satisfying the keyword-based subject of thequery, may fail to provide information about the desired version.

Many entities (or query subjects) have multiple versions and versionscan differ based upon the nature of the entity. For instance, many carmodels are released every year and each year's model may be viewed as adifferent version (e.g., HONDA ACCORD 2010 and HONDA ACCORD 2011).Similarly, many events occur at regular intervals and each interval maybe viewed as a different version (e.g., NBA Playoffs 2009 and NBAPlayoffs 2010). Additionally, some products, for instance softwareproducts, use different numerical designations to indicate differentversions (e.g., INTERNET EXPLORER 8 and INTERNET EXPLORER 9). There arealso queries which, while having a specific version denoted, do so in arelative rather than a fixed manner. For instance, a query may indicate“events in Seattle tomorrow.” “Tomorrow” is the particular versiondesignated but the value of the designation changes with time andresults relevant today will differ from those relevant based on the samequery tomorrow.

Query subjects having multiple versions can lead to unsatisfactorysearch results. For instance, users often input only the subject of theversions (e.g., “HONDA ACCORD”) without an accompanying indication forwhich version they would like to see results. Additionally, even if theuser enters a version-intent (that is, a designation of a particularversion within the search query itself), the version may be only one ofmultiple keywords upon which results are ranked and, as such, resultsclosely matching other portions of the query may appear moreprominently, or instead of, results that include information about thedesired version.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems, methods, andcomputer-readable storage media for, among other things, creating andassociating subject-version tags with searchable documents, identifyingsearch queries that have an associated version-intent and presentingresults to such search queries in accordance with the associatedversion-intent. Each document of a corpus of documents that issearchable and retrievable in response to a search query is examined todetermine any subject-versions associated therewith. If subject-versionsare determined, such information is stored in association with theappropriate documents as subject-version tags. When a search query isreceived, it is determined whether at least a portion of the searchquery has a version-intent indicative of a particular version associatedwith a subject of the search query. Such version-intent may beexplicitly provided or implicitly derived from the query. Documents areretrieved that satisfy the input query and ranked for presentation, atleast in part, based upon the particular version indicated by theversion-intent as compared to the subject-version tags associated withthe satisfying documents. The ranked documents are then presented inresponse to the search query. Also presented is a user-manipulatabletool, manipulation of which permits a user to indicate that informationconcerning a different subject-version is desired. Upon receiving suchindication, the search results are changed such that documents havingsubject-version tags indicative of the newly-indicated version-intentare ranked higher and receive more prominent placement than documentslacking such subject-version tags and/or documents associated withdifferent subject-version tags.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitedin the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing environment suitablefor use in implementing embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing system in whichembodiments of the invention may be employed;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for creating aquery store containing subject-version information, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for taggingdocuments with version information, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for identifyingqueries having a version-intent and presenting search results inaccordance with the version-intent, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for identifyingqueries having an implicit version-intent and presenting search resultsin accordance with the most relevant version-intent, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary screen display of aSearch Engine Results Page (SERP) determined in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing another exemplary screen displayof a SERP determined in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of the present invention is described withspecificity herein to meet statutory requirements. However, thedescription itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent.Rather, the inventors have contemplated that the claimed subject mattermight also be embodied in other ways, to include different steps orcombinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, inconjunction with other present or future technologies. Moreover,although the terms “step” and/or “block” may be used herein to connotedifferent elements of methods employed, the terms should not beinterpreted as implying any particular order among or between varioussteps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individualsteps is explicitly described.

Various aspects of the technology described herein are generallydirected to systems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for,among other things, creating and associating subject-version tags withsearchable documents, identifying search queries that have an associatedversion-intent and presenting results to such search queries inaccordance with the associated version-intent. Each document of a corpusof documents that is searchable and retrievable in response to a searchquery is examined to determine any subject-versions associatedtherewith. If subject-versions are determined, such information isstored in association with the appropriate documents as subject-versiontags. When a search query is received, it is determined whether at leasta portion of the search query has a version-intent indicative of aparticular version associated with a subject of the search query. Suchversion-intent may be explicitly provided or implicitly derived from thequery. Documents are retrieved that satisfy the input query and rankedfor presentation, at least in part, based upon the particular versionindicated by the version-intent as compared to the subject-version tagsassociated with the satisfying documents. The ranked documents are thenpresented in response to the search query. Also presented is auser-manipulatable tool, manipulation of which permits a user toindicate that information concerning a different subject-version isdesired. Upon receiving such indication, the search results are changedsuch that documents having subject-version tags indicative of thenewly-indicated version-intent are ranked higher and receive moreprominent placement than documents lacking such subject-version tagsand/or documents having different subject-version tags.

Accordingly, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to oneor more computer-readable storage media storing computer-useableinstructions that, when used by one or more computing devices, cause theone or more computing devices to perform a method for identifyingqueries having a version-intent and presenting search results inaccordance with the version-intent. The method includes receiving asearch query and determining that at least a portion of the receivedsearch query has a version-intent indicative of a particular versionassociated with a subject of the search query. The method furtherincludes presenting a plurality of search results that are ranked forpresentation, at least in part, based on the particular subject-versionindicated by the version-intent. Also presented is a user-manipulatabletool, manipulation of which permits a user to change the version-intentto be indicative of a version associated with the subject of the searchquery other than the particular version.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a methodperformed by a computing device having a processor and a memory forclassifying documents for presentation in response to search querieshaving associated version-intents. The method includes classifying eachdocument of a plurality of documents for keyword-based retrieval inresponse to a received search query and determining, for each classifieddocument, whether any subject-versions are indicated. For each documenthaving at least one indicated subject-version, the method furtherincludes creating a tag indicative of the at least one indicatedsubject-version. For each classified document, the method furtherincludes storing a document identifier, the document classificationinformation and any associated subject-version tags in a document index.

In yet another embodiment, the present invention is directed to one ormore computer-readable storage media storing computer-useableinstructions that, when used by one or more computing devices, cause theone or more computing devices to perform a method for identifyingqueries having a version-intent and presenting search results inaccordance with the version-intent. The method includes receiving asearch query; determining that at least a portion of the search queryhas a version-intent indicative of a particular version associated witha subject of the search query; extracting, from the search query, theparticular subject-version associated with the subject thereof;identifying a plurality of subject-versions associated with the subjectof the search query, wherein the plurality includes the particularsubject-version extracted from the search query; determining one or moredocuments that satisfies the received search query, wherein at least aportion of the one or more documents has one or more subject-versiontags associated therewith; and presenting a plurality of search resultsthat are ranked for presentation, at least in part, based on theparticular subject-version indicated by the version-intent.

Having briefly described an overview of embodiments of the presentinvention, an exemplary operating environment in which embodiments ofthe present invention may be implemented is described below in order toprovide a general context for various aspects of the present invention.Referring to the figures in general and initially to FIG. 1 inparticular, an exemplary operating environment for implementingembodiments of the present invention is shown and designated generallyas computing device 100. The computing device 100 is but one example ofa suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of theinvention. Neither should the computing device 100 be interpreted ashaving any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combinationof components illustrated.

Embodiments of the invention may be described in the general context ofcomputer code or machine-useable instructions, includingcomputer-useable or computer-executable instructions such as programmodules, being executed by a computer or other machine, such as apersonal data assistant or other handheld device. Generally, programmodules including routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, and the like, refer to code that performs particular tasksor implements particular abstract data types. Embodiments of theinvention may be practiced in a variety of system configurations,including hand-held devices, consumer electronics, general-purposecomputers, more specialty computing devices, etc. Embodiments of theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote-processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network.

With continued reference to FIG. 1, the computing device 100 includes abus 110 that directly or indirectly couples the following devices: amemory 112, one or more processors 114, one or more presentationcomponents 116, input/output (I/O) ports 118, I/O components 120, and anillustrative power supply 122. The bus 110 represents what may be one ormore busses (such as an address bus, data bus, or combination thereof).Although the various blocks of FIG. 1 are shown with lines for the sakeof clarity, in reality, these blocks represent logical, not necessarilyactual, components. For example, one may consider a presentationcomponent such as a display device to be an I/O component. Also,processors have memory. The inventors hereof recognize that such is thenature of the art, and reiterate that the diagram of FIG. 1 is merelyillustrative of an exemplary computing device that can be used inconnection with one or more embodiments of the present invention.Distinction is not made between such categories as “workstation,”“server,” “laptop,” “hand-held device,” etc., as all are contemplatedwithin the scope of FIG. 1 and reference to “computing device.”

The computing device 100 typically includes a variety ofcomputer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any availablemedia that can be accessed by the computing device 100 and includes bothvolatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer-readable media includes, but is not limited to,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computing device100. Combinations of any of the above are also included within the scopeof computer-readable media.

The memory 112 includes computer-storage media in the form of volatileand/or nonvolatile memory. The memory may be removable, non-removable,or a combination thereof. Exemplary hardware devices include solid-statememory, hard drives, optical-disc drives, and the like. The computingdevice 100 includes one or more processors that read data from variousentities such as the memory 112 or the I/O components 120. Thepresentation component(s) 116 present data indications to a user orother device. Exemplary presentation components include a displaydevice, speaker, printing component, vibrating component, and the like.

The I/O ports 118 allow the computing device 100 to be logically coupledto other devices including the I/O components 120, some of which may bebuilt in. Illustrative components include a microphone, joystick, gamepad, satellite dish, scanner, printer, wireless device, and the like.

As previously mentioned, embodiments of the present invention relate tosystems, methods, and computer-readable storage media for, among otherthings, creating and associating subject-version tags with searchabledocuments, identifying search queries that have an associatedversion-intent and presenting results to such search queries inaccordance with the associated version-intent. Each document of a corpusof documents that is searchable and retrievable in response to a searchquery is examined to determine any subject-versions associatedtherewith. If subject-versions are determined, such information isstored in association with the appropriate documents as subject-versiontags. When a search query is received, it is determined whether at leasta portion of the search query has a version-intent indicative of aparticular version associated with a subject of the search query. Suchversion-intent may be explicitly provided or implicitly derived from thequery. Documents are retrieved that satisfy the input query and rankedfor presentation, at least in part, based upon the particular versionindicated by the version-intent as compared to the subject-version tagsassociated with the satisfying documents. The ranked documents are thenpresented in response to the search query. Also presented is auser-manipulatable tool, manipulation of which permits a user toindicate that information concerning a different subject-version isdesired. Upon receiving such indication, the search results are changedsuch that documents having subject-version tags indicative of thenewly-indicated version-intent are ranked higher and receive moreprominent placement than documents lacking such subject-version tagsand/or documents having different subject-version tags.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a block diagram is provided illustrating anexemplary computing system 200 in which embodiments of the presentinvention may be employed. Generally, the computing system 200illustrates an environment in which documents (e.g., Web documents) aretagged with information indicative of one or more versions of a subjectthereof, queries are identified as having a particular version-intent,and (document) results of search queries are ranked, in part, based onsubject-version tags associated therewith. As will be described infurther detail below, embodiments of the present invention providesystems and methods for identifying search queries that have anassociated version-intent and presenting results to such search queriesin accordance with the associated version-intent.

Among other components not shown, the computing system 200 generallyincludes a user computing device 210, a search server 212, a query store214 and a document index 216, all in communication with one another viaa network 218. The network 218 may include, without limitation, one ormore local area networks (LANs) and/or wide area networks (WANs). Suchnetworking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, intranets and the Internet. Accordingly, the network218 is not further described herein.

It should be understood that any number of user computing devices,search servers and data stores (e.g., query store 214 and document index216) may be employed in the computing system 200 within the scope ofembodiments of the present invention. Each may comprise a singledevice/interface or multiple devices/interfaces cooperating in adistributed environment. For instance, the search server 212 maycomprise multiple devices and/or modules arranged in a distributedenvironment that collectively provide the functionality of the searchserver 212 described herein. Additionally, other components/modules notshown may also be included within the computing system 200.

In some embodiments, one or more of the illustrated components/modulesmay be implemented as stand-alone applications. In other embodiments,one or more of the illustrated components/modules may be implemented viathe user computing device 210, as an Internet-based service, or as amodule inside the search server 212. It will be understood by those ofordinary skill in the art that the components/modules illustrated inFIG. 2 are exemplary in nature and in number and should not be construedas limiting. Any number of components/modules may be employed to achievethe desired functionality within the scope of embodiments hereof.Further, components/modules may be located on any number of servers oruser computing devices. By way of example only, the search server 212might be provided as a single server (as shown), a cluster of servers,or a computing device remote from one or more of the remainingcomponents.

It should be understood that this and other arrangements describedherein are set forth only as examples. Other arrangements and elements(e.g., machines, interfaces, functions, orders, and groupings offunctions, etc.) can be used in addition to or instead of those shown,and some elements may be omitted altogether. Further, many of theelements described herein are functional entities that may beimplemented as discrete or distributed components or in conjunction withother components, and in any suitable combination and location. Variousfunctions described herein as being performed by one or more entitiesmay be carried out by hardware, firmware, and/or software. For instance,various functions may be carried out by a processor executinginstructions stored in memory.

The user computing device 210 may include any type of computing device,such as the computing device 100 described with reference to FIG. 1, forexample. Generally, the user computing device 210 includes a browser(not shown) and a display (not shown). The browser is configured toreceive user inputted search queries (generally inputted via a userinterface presented on the display and permitting alpha-numeric and/ortextual input into a designated search box) and to receive content forpresentation on the display, for instance, from the search server 212.It should be noted that the functionality described herein as beingperformed by the browser may be performed by any other applicationcapable of rendering Web content. Any and all such variations, and anycombination thereof, are contemplated to be within the scope ofembodiments of the present invention.

The search server 212 is configured to receive and respond to requeststhat it receives from components associated with user computing devices,for instance, the browser (not shown) associated with the user computingdevice 210. The search server 212 may be associated with any searchengine capable of searching text and/or content. Those skilled in theart will recognize that the present invention may be implemented withany number of searching utilities. For example, an Internet searchengine or a database search engine may utilize the present invention.These search engines are well known in the art, and commerciallyavailable engines share many similar processes not further describedherein.

As illustrated, the search server 212 includes a query classifier 220, asubject-version extractor 222, and a document ranking engine 224. Theillustrated search server 212 also has access to a query store 214 and adocument index 216. The query store 214 is configured to store searchqueries having an associated version-intent in association with suchversion-intent. A subject (that is, a topic or keyword) of an inputtedsearch query may have multiple versions thereof. For instance, many carmodels are released every year and each year's model may be viewed as adifferent version (e.g., HONDA ACCORD 2010 and HONDA ACCORD 2011).Similarly, many events occur at regular intervals and each interval maybe viewed as a different version (e.g., NBA Playoffs 2009 and NBAPlayoffs 2010). Additionally, some products, for instance softwareproducts, use different numerical designations to indicate differentversions (e.g., INTERNET EXPLORER 8 and INTERNET EXPLORER 9). There arealso queries which, while having a specific version denoted, do so in arelative rather than a fixed manner. For instance, a query may indicate“events in Seattle tomorrow.” In this instance, “tomorrow” is theparticular version designated but the value of the designation changeswith time and results relevant today will differ from those relevantbased on the same query tomorrow.

With reference to FIG. 3, a flow diagram is provided that illustrates anexemplary method 300 for creating a query store (e.g., query store 214of FIG. 2) containing version-intent information, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. Initially, as indicated at block312, query logs 310 are mined to determine queries having aversion-intent, that is, queries having at least one subject with aplurality of associated versions. Such determinations may be made, forinstance, by comparison of original queries and reformulated queriesinputted by users. For a simplistic example, see Tables I and II belowwhich illustrate exemplary query log data.

TABLE I Reformu- Aban- lated don- Query Query ment Query ReformulatedQuery Frequency Frequency Rate 1 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 16 50.00%ACCORD 2010 FIYAT LISTESI 2 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 29 57.14% ACCORDMALAYSIA 2010 3 HONDA NEW HONDA 157703 163 20.00% ACCORD ACCORD 2010 4HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 88  0.00% ACCORD 2010 PICTURES 5 HONDA HONDAACCORD 157703 32 33.33% ACCORD 2010 lx 6 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 366.67% ACCORD PRICE IN INDIA 2010 7 HONDA 2010 HONDA 157703 401 25.00%ACCORD ACCORD CROSSTOUR 8 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 17 66.67% ACCORDTEST 2010 9 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 21  0.00% ACCORD PRICES 2010 10HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 290 33.33% ACCORD 2010 PRICE

TABLE II Reformu- Aban- lated don- Query Query ment Query ReformulatedQuery Frequency Frequency Rate 1 HONDA 2011 HONDA 157703 466 33.33%ACCORD ACCORD REVIEW 2 HONDA 2011 HONDA 157703 1442  5.26% ACCORD ACCORDCOUPE 3 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 19  0.00% ACCORD 2011 lx 4 HONDA HONDAACCORD 157703 16 75.00% ACCORD PRECIOS 2011 5 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 15770333 66.67% ACCORD NEW MODEL 2011 6 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 79 50.00%ACCORD 2011 FIYAT LISTESI 7 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 157703 77 50.00% ACCORD2011 8 HONDA 2011 HONDA 157703 6  0.00% ACCORD ACCORD LISTINGS 9 HONDAHONDA ACCORD 157703 174  7.78% ACCORD 2011 10 HONDA HONDA ACCORD 1577037  0.00% ACCORD NEW FACELIFT 2011

In each table, the column entitled “Query” denotes exemplary data for aquery inputted as shown by a collective group of users. The columnentitled “Query Frequency” denotes that the query “HONDA ACCORD” wasinputted by users 157,703 times during the examined time frame. Thecolumn entitled “Reformulated Query” denotes exemplary data showingthat, if the user inputting the query does not receive desired results,he or she may reformulate the query as shown. The column entitled“Reformulated Query Frequency” denotes the number of times a userreformulated the query “HONDA ACCORD” in accordance with thereformulated queries shown. The final column entitled “Abandonment Rate”denotes the percentage of the time that users abandon the search evenafter reformulating the query as shown.

From the table data, it can be seen that the query “HONDA ACCORD”contains frequent query reformulations that repeat themselves exceptingthe designation of a different year (i.e., version). For instance, row 5of Table I and row 3 of Table II represent the same reformulationsabsent the year (i.e., version) of the HONDA ACCORD model. Similarly,row 1 of Table I and row 6 of Table II represent the same reformulationsabsent the year (i.e., version) of the HONDA ACCORD FIYAT LISTESI model.Given this data, it can be discerned that the inputted queries “HONDAACCORD 2010,” “HONDA ACCORD 2011,” “HONDA ACCORD 2010 FIYAT LISTESI,”and “HONDA ACCORD 2011 FIYAT LISTESI” are queries with a particularversion-intent. Similarly, though no specific version-intent isindicated in the query itself, it can also be discerned that the query“HONDA ACCORD” is a query for which a version-intent is present as it isclear that multiple versions of HONDA ACCORD exist.

Returning to FIG. 3, for each query determined to have a version-intent,one or more subject versions is identified or determined. For instance,in the above, “2010,” “2011,” “2010 FIYAL LISTESI,” and “2011 FIYATLISTESI” may all be determined or identified as subject-versions for thequery “HONDA ACCORD.” Each query determined to have a version-intentthen is stored in a query store (e.g., the query store 214 of FIG. 2)with its associated one or more subject-versions. This is indicated atblock 316.

As can also be seen in Tables I and II, queries may contain querystrings that explicitly indicate a version-intent. For instance, thereformulated queries “HONDA ACCORD 2010” or “HONDA ACCORD 2011” containquery strings that explicitly indicate the version-intent, namely “2010”and “2011,” respectively. Alternatively, queries may contain querystrings that implicitly indicate a version-intent and from which aparticular version may be derived or presumed. For instance, aspreviously described, the query “HONDA ACCORD” is a query for which aversion-intent is present as it is clear that multiple versions of HONDAACCORD exist. However, no explicit version-intent information is setforth in the query itself. In accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, where an implicit version-intent is indicated, the latest ormost recent version of the subject of the query is presumed to be theparticular version for which information is desired. It will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that any number ofcriteria may be utilized to derive or presume an implicit version-intentand such is not intended to limit the scope of embodiments hereof. Forinstance, the presumed version may be the most frequently associatedversion of the subject based upon query log data, or the like. Inembodiments, the aim is to ensure fair treatment for documents having anestablished subject-version that matches the version-intent of a queryand documents having no established subject-version associatedtherewith.

There are also queries which, while having a specific version denoted,do so in a relative rather than a fixed manner. For instance, a querymay indicate “events in Seattle tomorrow,” where “tomorrow” is thedesignated version-intent but the value of the designation changes withtime such that results relevant today will differ from those relevantbased on the same query inputted on a different day. In accordance withembodiments of the present invention, query stings that are indicativeof a relative version-intent are identified (e.g., through comparison toa listing of common relative terms stored in association with the querystore 214 of FIG. 2) and assigned a fixed version for purposes ofidentifying and ranking search results, as more fully described below.For instance, if the query “events in Seattle tomorrow” is inputted onJanuary 1^(st), “tomorrow” may be identified as a relative versiondesignation and assigned the version “January 2^(nd)” prior to renderingthe search results.

With reference back to FIG. 2, in embodiments, the query store 214 isconfigured to be searchable for one or more of the items stored inassociation therewith. It will be understood and appreciated by those ofordinary skill in the art that the information stored in associationwith the query store 214 may be configurable and may include anyinformation relevant to queries and their associated version-intents.The content and volume of such information are not intended to limit thescope of embodiments of the present invention in any way. Further,though illustrated as a single, independent component, the query store214 may, in fact, be a plurality of storage devices, for instance adatabase cluster, portions of which may reside in association with thesearch server 212, the user computing device 210, another externalcomputing device (not shown), and/or any combination thereof.

The document index 216 is configured to store an index of documentidentifiers, their associated keyword-based classification informationand any associated version information associated with any subjectsthereof. Just as a subject (that is, a topic or keyword) of an inputtedquery may have multiple versions thereof, subjects of documents that maybe retrieved in response to inputted search queries may similarly haveone or more associated versions. As such, designations that retrievabledocuments contain information about subjects having multiple versions,as well as to which version or versions such information pertains, aredetermined and indications of such are stored in the document index 216.

With reference to FIG. 4, a flow diagram is provided that illustrates anexemplary method 400 for tagging documents (e.g., Web documents) withversion information, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As indicated at block 410, each of a plurality of documentsis classified for keyword-based retrieval in response to received searchqueries. Techniques for keyword-based classification are known to thoseor ordinary skill in the art and, accordingly, are not further describedherein. For each document, it is also determined if any subject-versionsare indicated, as shown at block 412. Document subjects for whichsubject-versions may be present may be determined, e.g., by comparisonof documents containing identical and/or similar keywords anddeterminations as to whether similar keywords exist with minorvariations that may be attributable to versioning. For each documenthaving one or more subject-versions, a tag (for instance, a metadatatag) indicative of each subject-version associated with the document iscreated. This is indicated at block 414. For each classified document, adocument identifier (ID), the document classification information, andany associated subject-version tags are stored in a document index(e.g., document index 216 of FIG. 2), as indicated at block 416.

Documents having subjects determined to have multiple versions may beassociated with zero, one, or multiple subject-version tags. Forinstance, a document about the car model HONDA ACCORD may discuss thecar model generally but without specific information about anyparticular version or year. In this instance, such document, thoughassociated with a subject having multiple versions, may not beassociated with any subject-version tags. Alternatively, anotherdocument about the car model HONDA ACCORD may discuss the features ofthe 2010 model of HONDA ACCORD. In this instance, the document may betagged with the subject-version tag “2010.” Yet another document aboutthe car model HONDA ACCORD may compare the features of the 2010 and 2011models of HONDA ACCORD. In this instance, the document may be taggedwith two subject-version tags, one for “2010” and one for “2011.”

In embodiments, the document index 216 is configured to be searchablefor one or more of the items stored in association therewith. It will beunderstood and appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art thatthe information stored in association with the document index 216 may beconfigurable and may include any information relevant to documents thatare capable of keyword-based retrieval and associated subject-versioninformation. The content and volume of such information are not intendedto limit the scope of embodiments of the present invention in any way.Further, though illustrated as a single, independent component, thedocument index 216 may, in fact, be a plurality of storage devices, forinstance a database cluster, portions of which may reside in associationwith the search server 212, the user computing device 210, anotherexternal computing device (not shown), and/or any combination thereof.

Once a query has been received by the search server 212, the queryclassifier 220 is configured to examine the inputted search query anddetermine whether at least a portion of the search query has aversion-intent indicative of a particular version associated with asubject thereof. Such determination may be made, for instance, bycomparing the terms and/or phrases of the inputted search query with theinformation stored in the query store 214.

Once a query has been classified as having a version-intent, thesubject-version extractor 222 is configured to extract the particularsubject-version associated with a subject thereof. A subject-versionassociated with an inputted query may be explicit or implicit. Anexemplary explicit query subject-version is found in the query “HONDAACCORD 2011.” The subject-version “2011” is explicitly contained in thesearch query itself and refers to the query subject “HONDA ACCORD.” Anexemplary implicit query subject-version is found in the query “HONDAACCORD.” As shown above in Tables I and II, the query “HONDA ACCORD” isdetermined to contain a version-intent as multiple versions of HONDAACCORD exist. The fact that there is no explicit indication of aparticular subject-version in the query renders the version-intentimplicit. In embodiments of the present invention, such implicitversion-intent defaults to a latest or most-recent version of thesubject of the query. As such, if the query “HONDA ACCORD” is inputtedby a user in March of 2011, the latest or most recent version of HONDAACCORD is 2011 and the desired version-intent will be presumed to besuch. It will be understood and appreciated by those of ordinary skillin the art that latest or most-recent versions are only one defaultcategorization and any number of default positions may be established asdesired.

The document ranking engine 224 is configured to rank documentsdetermined to satisfy an inputted search query for presentation to theuser. Generally, higher ranking documents are presented more prominentlythan lower ranking documents, for instance, at the top of a verticalresults listing, or the like. Documents determined to satisfy aninputted search query based on the keywords contained therein are knownin the art and techniques centered on keyword-based document retrievalare not further described herein. Rather than merely ranking documentsbased upon keywords, the document ranking engine 224 in accordance withembodiments of the present invention, utilizes tags associated with thesatisfying documents to filter or rank the documents for presentation.The association of subject-version tags with documents was discussedherein above with reference to the document index 216 of FIG. 2 and themethod 400 of FIG. 4. Utilizing the document ranking engine 224,satisfying documents having subject-version tags associated therewiththat match (or closely approximate) a subject-version extracted from areceived query (e.g., utilizing the subject-version extractor 222), areretrieved utilizing the document index 216 and may be ranked higher thandocuments that do not have such associated subject-version tags.Documents may then be presented in response to a received search query(e.g., in association with the user computing device 210) that take intoaccount subject-versions of inputted search queries.

With reference now to FIG. 5, a flow diagram is provided thatillustrates an exemplary method 500, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention, for identifying queries having a version-intentand presenting search results in accordance with the version-intent. Asindicated at block 510, a search query is received. It then isdetermined (for instance, utilizing the query classifier 220 of FIG. 2)that at least a portion of the received search query has aversion-intent indicative of a particular version associated with asubject of the search query, as indicated at block 512. A plurality ofsearch results that are ranked for presentation (e.g., utilizing thedocument ranking engine 224 of FIG. 2), at least in part, based on theparticular subject-version indicated by the version-intent is presented,as indicated at block 514. This is shown with reference to the screendisplay 700 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an exemplary screen display 700 ofa Search Engine Results Page (SERP) determined in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. As illustrated, the search query“HONDA ACCORD” has been inputted into a search box 710 capable ofreceiving textual input. Returning to the above example, HONDA ACCORD isa query determined to have a version-intent as the exemplary query logsof Tables I and II indicate that multiple version of HONDA ACCORD exist.However, no explicit version-intent is present in the query. Inaccordance with embodiments hereof, such implicit version-intent isdefaulted to a latest or most-recent version of the subject of thequery. As such, assume that the query “HONDA ACCORD” was inputted inMarch of 2011. Accordingly, the latest or most recent version of HONDAACCORD is 2011 and the desired version-intent is presumed to be such.Thus, the search results presented are ranked, at least in part, basedupon the implicit version desired, “2011.”

Returning to FIG. 5, also presented is a user-manipulatable tool,manipulation of which permits a user to change the version-intent to beindicative of a version associated with the subject of the search queryother than the particular version. This is indicated at block 516. Inembodiments, the user-manipulatable tool permits alpha-numeric ortextual input of a desired version other than the particular version. Inother embodiments, the user-manipulatable tool visually indicates atleast one version associated with the subject of the search query otherthan the particular version. Any and all such variations, and anycombination thereof, are contemplated to be within the scope ofembodiments of the present invention. In the screen display 700 of FIG.7, the user-manipulatable tool is shown as reference numeral 712 andindicates the default or presumed version-intent “2011.” Theuser-manipulatable tool 712 is an example of a tool that visuallyindicates appropriate subject-versions.

With reference back to FIG. 5, upon receiving an indication of a changeto the version-intent associated with a subject of an inputted query,the query results presented are changed or altered such that a secondplurality of search results that are ranked for presentation, at leastin part, based on the newly-indicated subject-version indicated by thechanged version-intent, is presented. This is shown with reference tothe screen display 800 of FIG. 8. As illustrated, the version-intentindication has been changed via the user-manipulatable tool 712 todesignate the version “2010” rather than “2011.” In accordance with suchchange, the search results have been changed such that they are ranked,at least in part, utilizing the changed version-intent.

Turning now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram is provided that illustratesanother exemplary method 600 for identifying queries having an implicitversion-intent and presenting search results in accordance with the mostrelevant (e.g., latest or most recent version of the subject of thequery) version-intent, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. As indicated at block 610, a search query is received. It isthen determined that at least a portion of the received search query hasa version-intent indicative of a particular version associated with asubject of the search query, as indicated at block 612. The particularsubject-version associated with the subject of the search query isextracted there from, as indicated at block 614. As indicated at block616, a plurality of subject-versions associated with the subject of thesearch query is identified. One or more documents satisfying thereceived search query are determined, at least a portion of which haveone or more associated subject-version tags. This is indicated at block618. A plurality of search results is then presented, the search resultsbeing ranked for presentation, at least in part, based on the particularsubject-version indicated by the version-intent, as indicated at block620.

As can be understood, embodiments of the present invention providesystems and methods for identifying search queries that have anassociated version-intent and presenting results to such search queriesin accordance with the associated version-intent. The present inventionhas been described in relation to particular embodiments, which areintended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive.Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art to which the present invention pertains without departingfrom its scope.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof areshown in the drawings and have been described above in detail. It shouldbe understood, however, that there is no intention to limit theinvention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theintention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, andequivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that theorder of steps shown in the method 300 of FIG. 3, the method 400 of FIG.4, the method 500 of FIG. 5, and the method 600 of FIG. 6 are not meantto limit the scope of the present invention in any way and, in fact, thesteps may occur in a variety of different sequences within embodimentshereof. Any and all such variations, and any combination thereof, arecontemplated to be within the scope of embodiments of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for identifying queries havingversion-intents and presenting relevant search results in accordancewith such version-intents, the method comprising: receiving a searchquery; determining that at least a portion of the search query has aversion-intent indicative of a particular subject-version associatedwith a subject of the search query, the determining comprising:comparing terms of the search query with information stored in a querystore; determining that that the compared terms of the search query hasa version-intent stored in the query store; and identifying theparticular subject version for the version-intent stored in the querystore; presenting a plurality of search results that are ranked forpresentation, at least in part, based on the particular subject-versionindicated by the version-intent, the presenting comprising ranking theplurality of search results based on subject-version tags associatedwith the particular subject-version; and presenting a user-manipulatabletool, manipulation of which permits a user to change the version-intentto be indicative of a subject-version associated with the subject of thesearch query other than the particular subject-version.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining that the at least a portion of the searchquery has the version-intent indicative of the particularsubject-version associated with the subject of the search querycomprises determining that the search query contains at least one querystring that explicitly indicates the particular subject-version.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein determining that the at least a portion ofthe search query has the version-intent indicative of the particularsubject-version associated with the subject of the search querycomprises referencing query log data to identify that the search querycontains at least one query string that implicitly indicates theparticular subject-version.
 4. The method 3, wherein theimplicitly-indicated particular subject-version is at least one of alatest version associated with the subject of the search query and amost popular version associated with the subject of the search query. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the at least a portionof the search query has the version-intent indicative of the particularsubject-version associated with the subject of the search querycomprises determining that the search query contains at least one querystring indicative of a relative subject-version, and wherein the methodfurther comprises assigning a fixed subject-version to the relativesubject-version.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theuser-manipulatable tool visually indicates at least one subject-versionassociated with the subject of the search query other than theparticular subject-version.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: receiving an indication of a second version-intentindicative of a second subject-version associated with the subject ofthe search query; and presenting a second plurality of search resultsthat are ranked for presentation, at least in part, based on the secondsubject-version indicated by the second version-intent.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein receiving the indication of the second version-intentcomprises receiving the indication of the second version-intent via theuser-manipulatable tool.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein presentingthe plurality of search results comprises presenting the plurality ofsearch results, at least a portion of which includes one or moresubject-version tags, wherein each subject-version tag of the one ormore subject-version tags is indicative of a certain subject-versionassociated with the subject of the search query, and wherein theplurality of search results is ranked, at least in part, utilizing thesubject-version tags.
 10. A method for identifying queries having aversion-intents and presenting relevant search results in accordancewith such version-intents, the method comprising: receiving a searchquery; determining that at least a portion of the search query has aversion-intent indicative of a particular subject-version associatedwith a subject of the search query, the determining comprising:comparing terms of the search query with information stored in a querystore; and determining that that the compared terms of the search queryhas a version-intent stored in the query store; extracting, from thesearch query, the particular subject-version associated with the subjectthereof; identifying a plurality of subject-versions associated with thesubject of the search query, wherein the plurality includes theparticular subject-version extracted from the search query; determiningone or more documents that satisfies the received search query, whereinat least a portion of the one or more documents has one or moresubject-version tags associated therewith; and presenting a plurality ofsearch results that are ranked for presentation, at least in part, basedon the particular subject-version indicated by the version-intent, thepresenting comprising ranking the plurality of search results based onthe one or more subject-version tags.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the method further comprises presenting a user-manipulatabletool, manipulation of which permits a user to change the version-intentto be indicative of one of the plurality of subject-versions associatedwith the subject of the search query other than the particularsubject-version.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein determining thatthe at least a portion of the search query has the version-intentindicative of the particular subject-version associated with the subjectof the search query comprises determining that the search query containsat least one query string indicative of a relative subject-version, andwherein the method further comprises assigning a fixed subject-versionto the relative subject-version.
 13. A system for identifying querieshaving version-intents and presenting relevant search results inaccordance with such version-intents, the system comprising: a querystore; and a search server comprising a query classifier; wherein thesearch server: receives a search query; determines that at least aportion of the search query has a version-intent indicative of aparticular subject-version associated with a subject of the searchquery, the determining comprising: comparing terms of the search querywith information stored in the query store; determining that that thecompared terms of the search query has a version-intent stored in thequery store; and identifying the particular subject version for theversion-intent stored in the query store; presents a plurality of searchresults that are ranked for presentation, at least in part, based on theparticular subject-version indicated by the version-intent, thepresenting comprising ranking the plurality of search results based onsubject-versions tags associated with the particular subject-version;and presents a user-manipulatable tool, manipulation of which permits auser to change the version-intent to be indicative of a subject-versionassociated with the subject of the search query other than theparticular subject-version.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thesearch server is in communication with the query store.
 15. The systemof claim 14, wherein the subject-version is implicit in the searchquery.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein the search server is incommunication with a document index, and the document index associatessearch results in the document index having a known subject-versionassociation with a subject-version tag indicative of the subject-versionof the search result.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the searchserver further comprises a document ranking engine, the document rankingengine configured to rank the plurality of search results at least inpart based on whether the subject-version tag associated with a searchresult in the document index matches the subject-version of the searchquery.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein the document index isconfigured to store keyword-based classification information about thesearch results.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein the document indexis configured to store more than one subject-version tag for a searchresult if the search result is associated with more than onesubject-version.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the documentranking engine is configured to rank more highly search results having asubject-version tag matching the subject-version of the search querythan search results which lack a subject-version tag matching thesubject-version of the search query.